A Swiss banking giant has
been fined $US536 million after being found guilty of violating US sanctions
through years of undetected transactions with so-called "rogue"
regimes, such as Burma.

US prosecutors alleged that
Credit Suisse, Switzerland's largest bank, had carried out thousands of secret
transactions with Iran, Sudan, Libya, and Cuba, as well as Burma. These were
done through US banks to avoid detection.

The bank's falsifying of
the records of New York-based financial institutions allowed the five
countries, all of which are subject to tough US economic blockades, "to
access the US financial system in violation of US sanctions", Manhattan
district attorney Robert M. Morgenthau said.

A statement released by US
attorney general Eric Holder accused the bank of "massive financial
misconduct" that was "astounding...in both its scope and
complexity".

"For more than a
decade, Credit Suisse did business with and for countries that the United
States had specifically banned from our financial systems," he said. "But
rather than adhere to the law and decline to serve these customers, Credit
Suisse established a business model to allow these rogue players access to US
dollars."

According to attorney
reports, between 2002 and 2006 the bank processed over $US700 million in
payments that violated sanctions, although it is unclear what proportion of
these related to Burma.

In the case of Iran, Holder
said that the company had developed a pamphlet for Iranian clients
"explaining how to fill out payment messages so as not to trigger US
filters". The majority of the transactions exposed in the court case
involved Iran.

The bank told Reuters on
Tuesday, prior to the verdict, that it was "conducting an internal review
into certain US dollar payments involving countries, persons or entities that
may be subject to US economic sanctions".

The US treasury department
in a statement yesterday strongly condemned the apparent "awareness of the
conduct within the bank".

Marc Dosch, press officer
at Credit Suisse's Zurich headquarters, told DVB today that "there have been clear mistakes; that is why we
got in to this situation".

"What has been done is
very negative and we agree with the requirements set upon us and we have taken
measures...to improve our systems and are capable of complying with
sanctions."

US sanctions on Burma have
been in place in various forms since 1997,and were extended in August following
the guilty verdict handed to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Despite recently announcing
a policy of dialogue with the ruling junta, Washington has said that sanctions
will remain in place until tangible signs of progress toward democratic reform
are evident.

The US does however
maintain a strong, but highly controversial, business presence in Burma through
oil company Chevron (formerly Unocal), which operates the Yadana gas field.

The sanctions that were
implemented on Burma in 1997 demanded a halt on new investment in the country,
and did not force the withdrawal of companies that had existed there prior to
1997.

Advocacy group EarthRights
International estimated in September that
Chevron, along with French oil giant Total, which also operates the Yadana
gas field, had contributed around $US5 billion to the Burmese junta, much of
which had been siphoned into private Singaporean banks.